Name: Yamamoto Isoroku
Age: As of 1937, 53. (Born in 1884)
Gender: Male
Occupation: Japanese naval admiral
Appearance: I am bald with thick, short eyelashes and slanted, narrow black eyes.
Location: Japan
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Often believed in unpopular beliefs; he believed that aircrafts was suitable to replace battleships, and also that the American Navy and its skills were doubtful, both of which were rejected by other Japanese naval officers.
Family: Biological father who was a samurai; later adopted by the Yamamoto family. Married and have two sons and two daughters.
Education: attended Japanese Naval War College. Studied abroad in America
Languages you speak: Japanese, English
Your main concerns at this time and in life: Conflict with senior officers who preferred battleships; Yamamoto believed aircrafts were modern and efficient while ships were good but old-fashioned method of fighting.
Successfully attacking American military
Portrait (an image that you and we can live with):
Diary 1 February 7, 1938 It’s already been about a year since Imperial Japan’s expedition on China. I personally do not agree with many of the military decisions, especially invasions on China and attacks on America that could happen in the future. I have studied abroad and experienced a lot about American culture and military unlike many commanders in the Imperial Army; yet they do not listen to me on how we should avoid war with America. Same thing happened when I mentioned that aircrafts should be used as a new tactic to strike on our enemies, but other admirals insisted that the use of battleships is a better way. I believe that aircrafts are great in how we can drop weapons from the sky, while ships are limited to traveling on seas only. One day the admirals will understand my purpose. Speaking of invasion on China, I met a fairly interesting Korean boy I met at Hiro, my cousin’s factory. I was there to talk to Hiro about healthy men the Army could recruit. The boy was looking for Hiro as well, so while waiting we had a short conversation. I mentioned to him about Japan’s invasion on China and how I believed it was quite successful; Japan was able to show her power and strength to the entire world. But personally I thought it wasn’t the best choice that we could have made. The boy, named Man Sook, seemed pretty interested in the recent events and the strategies and tactics used. Man Sook told me that he was in the factory working for Hiro because he needed money. Apparently there were a lot of Korean teenagers trying to work. There were many other Koreans in Hiro’s factory as well. I asked Man Sook if he was interested in joining the Imperial Army, where he would be guaranteed a big pay. Plus he will be able to work for our glorious military of Imperial Japan, which is a big honor. Man Sook looked captivated to my offer; he probably knew that my suggestion would bring him more money and also honor to his family. He soon agreed to joining the Imperial Navy forces. Although Man Sook looked passionate, healthy and manly enough, one wasn’t enough for our country. Hiro didn’t return for a long time, and when he finally did, he agreed to looking for some of the most hard-working men and women that I could recruit. Today was another meaningful day and I’m looking forward to the day Imperial Japan will prosper and thrive.
Diary 2 Dec. 6, 1941 The day will come soon, very soon. The plans, the schemes that I’ve made, will finally be held in action. For long I’ve opposed many generals and admirals who were trying to attack America; America is far stronger than what they believe. I know it because I’ve been to America on my own feet; we mustn’t underestimate them. Then I suggested using air force instead of navy; I believed that air forces are much faster, stronger, and more modern way of attacking compared to ships, which are like samurai swords: powerful but old-fashioned. This was rejected as well, but they finally accepted my plan, my plan of attacking Pearl Harbor. The other admirals finally recognized that destroying aircraft carriers will have a powerful effect on American forces. I chose Pearl Harbor to strike on because it is close to Japan and far from America’s mainland. Also we will be able to destroy many aircraft carriers and ships at the same time. I finally mentioned my plans to several officers in a brief meeting in Hiroshima. As I expected, they all disagreed and were shocked. Their arguments were that the Japanese army was already too busy fighting in the ongoing Sino-Japanese war and the use of aircrafts was risky. But Officer Nagamoto and a few others agreed with my plans. He mentioned that the attack would be unexpected to the Americans, which would give us some advantage to successfully destroy their carriers and ships, completely disabling the US Navy base closest to our mainland. I received many disagreements to my plan, but I am still firm and confident about my ideas; the US will never imagine an attack coming from a country already in a war. We’ll all see how well my tactics can work out soon. Very, very soon. In fact, in about a few hours. To show people that I can succeed, I made a promise to Officer Nagamoto that we will meet again on December 8th, which will be a day after our attack on Pearl Harbor. We will be able to talk about how triumphant my method turned to be. Everyone will be surprised about how all the ideas they’ve opposed to brought victory to our country. Too overwhelmed with anxiety and excitement, I picked up a Korean girl from the comfort station and presented her pleasure. I just can’t wait to see how everything will work out.
1941 December 27 Power, victory, triumph. Imperial Japan is growing everyday; the attack on Pearl Harbor was successful, and we took control over Hong Kong a few days ago. I’m very glad to see everything working out so perfectly; Japan isn’t far from dominating Asia, or even the world. Japan’s occupation of Hong Kong will remain in history; this event proves that our Imperial Japan is strong enough to take over a land originally owned by the British and the entire world will recognize Imperial Japan as one of the world powers. Also Japan will be joining the ‘sphere of influence’ on China. Japan will have bigger land for farming and living, more ports, richer natural resources for our people. I am extremely proud of our Imperial Army, and their brave achievements will continue on. In addition to occupation of Hong Kong, our success in Pearl Harbor will also show people how militarily developed Imperial Japan is. We weren’t able to destroy America’s aircraft carriers for they weren’t stationed in the base, but the air force still managed to destroy their ships. The Imperial Army should always be aware that they could be attacked at any moment. In China, the Nationalists and the Communists joined to defeat us. We don’t know what kind of strategies America will use to defeat us and end the conflicts. For now we can commemorate our victory and enjoy our achievements. To start off the celebration, some of the soldiers(David H) and I sailed off to HongKong, a land that now belongs to us. How joyful! At a temporary camp for the Imperial military, we all had a short meal. During our conversation, we talked about how we should go to some of the most populated towns in Hong Kong to capture prisoners of war, women, workers, etc that we could possibly take back to Japan. It will also show the people how Hong Kong is not theirs anymore; it belongs to us now. We put our words into action at evening. We moved from town to town capturing men and women, some were comfort women stationed in Hong Kong; some were just factory workers; some were soldiers from other countries still placed in Hong Kong. (Daniella, Annie, Nancy, Brian)The people will now realize how powerful we Japanese are and how they should submit to us. Soon we will head back to Tokyo on a ship again. We are planning to send the captured people and sell them, hand them over to comfort women stations or prisons. They will realize that Japan is among the world powers now!
1941 December 30 We, the prisoners and my soldiers, safely arrived in Tokyo. Some of the people that were captured got sick or died on our way, but that is not of a big issue. First of all we sent foreign soldiers to prisons, sold women to comfort women stations and workers to some people, mostly factory owners, in need of work force. Well who cares where they go to; it does not matter to me unless we get paid for the people and unless the people get to work for none other than us. One boy (Annie )was lucky to be released before he got sent. I am not sure of the specifics, but apparently a British soldier came and released some people including the boy. Too bad they didn’t get the chance to work for our glorious Japanese. The year is ending soon, and the Imperial Army might want to start considering about what our enemies are planning; they might avenge us, especially the Americans. We might want to buy more weaponry or train more soldiers; we never know what kind of strategies our enemies might come up with, and we should always be prepared for surprise attacks. And who knows if some scientists are inventing a whole new kind of bombs right now? America might be doing that, they are always one of the countries who are ahead of other countries in technology. We should never let our guards down and always have a bit of feeling of anxiety in us. We mustn’t be depressed too much though. If I am correct, we might be able to take over Philippine and the Dutch East Indies by the beginning of next year. This will show the Americans and the Dutch that we will overpower them completely one day. Plus with more land, we will be able to station more soldiers in the south and set guards and trained troops there. But as I mentioned, we shouldn’t be too happy when we occupy the lands; other countries might counter-attack us. As we grow stronger, we will acquire more enemies. However peace and stability will follow, and Imperial Japan will rise as the world power. I can’t wait for the day to arrive, the day when Japanese can face Europeans proudly and with pride!
Age: As of 1937, 53. (Born in 1884)
Gender: Male
Occupation: Japanese naval admiral
Appearance: I am bald with thick, short eyelashes and slanted, narrow black eyes.
Location: Japan
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Often believed in unpopular beliefs; he believed that aircrafts was suitable to replace battleships, and also that the American Navy and its skills were doubtful, both of which were rejected by other Japanese naval officers.
Family: Biological father who was a samurai; later adopted by the Yamamoto family. Married and have two sons and two daughters.
Education: attended Japanese Naval War College. Studied abroad in America
Languages you speak: Japanese, English
Your main concerns at this time and in life: Conflict with senior officers who preferred battleships; Yamamoto believed aircrafts were modern and efficient while ships were good but old-fashioned method of fighting.
Successfully attacking American military
Portrait (an image that you and we can live with):
Diary 1
February 7, 1938
It’s already been about a year since Imperial Japan’s expedition on China. I personally do not agree with many of the military decisions, especially invasions on China and attacks on America that could happen in the future. I have studied abroad and experienced a lot about American culture and military unlike many commanders in the Imperial Army; yet they do not listen to me on how we should avoid war with America. Same thing happened when I mentioned that aircrafts should be used as a new tactic to strike on our enemies, but other admirals insisted that the use of battleships is a better way. I believe that aircrafts are great in how we can drop weapons from the sky, while ships are limited to traveling on seas only. One day the admirals will understand my purpose.
Speaking of invasion on China, I met a fairly interesting Korean boy I met at Hiro, my cousin’s factory. I was there to talk to Hiro about healthy men the Army could recruit. The boy was looking for Hiro as well, so while waiting we had a short conversation.
I mentioned to him about Japan’s invasion on China and how I believed it was quite successful; Japan was able to show her power and strength to the entire world. But personally I thought it wasn’t the best choice that we could have made. The boy, named Man Sook, seemed pretty interested in the recent events and the strategies and tactics used.
Man Sook told me that he was in the factory working for Hiro because he needed money. Apparently there were a lot of Korean teenagers trying to work. There were many other Koreans in Hiro’s factory as well.
I asked Man Sook if he was interested in joining the Imperial Army, where he would be guaranteed a big pay. Plus he will be able to work for our glorious military of Imperial Japan, which is a big honor.
Man Sook looked captivated to my offer; he probably knew that my suggestion would bring him more money and also honor to his family. He soon agreed to joining the Imperial Navy forces.
Although Man Sook looked passionate, healthy and manly enough, one wasn’t enough for our country. Hiro didn’t return for a long time, and when he finally did, he agreed to looking for some of the most hard-working men and women that I could recruit.
Today was another meaningful day and I’m looking forward to the day Imperial Japan will prosper and thrive.
Diary 2
Dec. 6, 1941
The day will come soon, very soon. The plans, the schemes that I’ve made, will finally be held in action. For long I’ve opposed many generals and admirals who were trying to attack America; America is far stronger than what they believe. I know it because I’ve been to America on my own feet; we mustn’t underestimate them. Then I suggested using air force instead of navy; I believed that air forces are much faster, stronger, and more modern way of attacking compared to ships, which are like samurai swords: powerful but old-fashioned. This was rejected as well, but they finally accepted my plan, my plan of attacking Pearl Harbor. The other admirals finally recognized that destroying aircraft carriers will have a powerful effect on American forces. I chose Pearl Harbor to strike on because it is close to Japan and far from America’s mainland. Also we will be able to destroy many aircraft carriers and ships at the same time.
I finally mentioned my plans to several officers in a brief meeting in Hiroshima. As I expected, they all disagreed and were shocked. Their arguments were that the Japanese army was already too busy fighting in the ongoing Sino-Japanese war and the use of aircrafts was risky. But Officer Nagamoto and a few others agreed with my plans. He mentioned that the attack would be unexpected to the Americans, which would give us some advantage to successfully destroy their carriers and ships, completely disabling the US Navy base closest to our mainland.
I received many disagreements to my plan, but I am still firm and confident about my ideas; the US will never imagine an attack coming from a country already in a war.
We’ll all see how well my tactics can work out soon. Very, very soon. In fact, in about a few hours. To show people that I can succeed, I made a promise to Officer Nagamoto that we will meet again on December 8th, which will be a day after our attack on Pearl Harbor. We will be able to talk about how triumphant my method turned to be.
Everyone will be surprised about how all the ideas they’ve opposed to brought victory to our country.
Too overwhelmed with anxiety and excitement, I picked up a Korean girl from the comfort station and presented her pleasure. I just can’t wait to see how everything will work out.
1941 December 27
Power, victory, triumph. Imperial Japan is growing everyday; the attack on Pearl Harbor was successful, and we took control over Hong Kong a few days ago. I’m very glad to see everything working out so perfectly; Japan isn’t far from dominating Asia, or even the world.
Japan’s occupation of Hong Kong will remain in history; this event proves that our Imperial Japan is strong enough to take over a land originally owned by the British and the entire world will recognize Imperial Japan as one of the world powers. Also Japan will be joining the ‘sphere of influence’ on China. Japan will have bigger land for farming and living, more ports, richer natural resources for our people. I am extremely proud of our Imperial Army, and their brave achievements will continue on.
In addition to occupation of Hong Kong, our success in Pearl Harbor will also show people how militarily developed Imperial Japan is. We weren’t able to destroy America’s aircraft carriers for they weren’t stationed in the base, but the air force still managed to destroy their ships.
The Imperial Army should always be aware that they could be attacked at any moment. In China, the Nationalists and the Communists joined to defeat us. We don’t know what kind of strategies America will use to defeat us and end the conflicts.
For now we can commemorate our victory and enjoy our achievements. To start off the celebration, some of the soldiers(David H) and I sailed off to HongKong, a land that now belongs to us. How joyful!
At a temporary camp for the Imperial military, we all had a short meal. During our conversation, we talked about how we should go to some of the most populated towns in Hong Kong to capture prisoners of war, women, workers, etc that we could possibly take back to Japan. It will also show the people how Hong Kong is not theirs anymore; it belongs to us now.
We put our words into action at evening. We moved from town to town capturing men and women, some were comfort women stationed in Hong Kong; some were just factory workers; some were soldiers from other countries still placed in Hong Kong. (Daniella, Annie, Nancy, Brian)The people will now realize how powerful we Japanese are and how they should submit to us.
Soon we will head back to Tokyo on a ship again. We are planning to send the captured people and sell them, hand them over to comfort women stations or prisons. They will realize that Japan is among the world powers now!
1941 December 30
We, the prisoners and my soldiers, safely arrived in Tokyo. Some of the people that were captured got sick or died on our way, but that is not of a big issue. First of all we sent foreign soldiers to prisons, sold women to comfort women stations and workers to some people, mostly factory owners, in need of work force. Well who cares where they go to; it does not matter to me unless we get paid for the people and unless the people get to work for none other than us. One boy (Annie )was lucky to be released before he got sent. I am not sure of the specifics, but apparently a British soldier came and released some people including the boy. Too bad they didn’t get the chance to work for our glorious Japanese.
The year is ending soon, and the Imperial Army might want to start considering about what our enemies are planning; they might avenge us, especially the Americans. We might want to buy more weaponry or train more soldiers; we never know what kind of strategies our enemies might come up with, and we should always be prepared for surprise attacks. And who knows if some scientists are inventing a whole new kind of bombs right now? America might be doing that, they are always one of the countries who are ahead of other countries in technology. We should never let our guards down and always have a bit of feeling of anxiety in us.
We mustn’t be depressed too much though. If I am correct, we might be able to take over Philippine and the Dutch East Indies by the beginning of next year. This will show the Americans and the Dutch that we will overpower them completely one day. Plus with more land, we will be able to station more soldiers in the south and set guards and trained troops there. But as I mentioned, we shouldn’t be too happy when we occupy the lands; other countries might counter-attack us. As we grow stronger, we will acquire more enemies. However peace and stability will follow, and Imperial Japan will rise as the world power.
I can’t wait for the day to arrive, the day when Japanese can face Europeans proudly and with pride!